


This Time (She's) Gonna Take The Crown

by Tori_Scribbles



Series: In A Foxes Hole [8]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Allison Goes Pro, Allison Reynolds/Happiness & Success, BAMF Allison, Broken Families, Coming Out, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/F, Families of Choice, Future Fic, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Introspection, POV Allison Reynolds (All For The Game), Press and Tabloids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22068172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tori_Scribbles/pseuds/Tori_Scribbles
Summary: When Allison was fifteen she chose Exy over her health.When Allison was seventeen she chose Exy over her parents and their inheritance.When Allison was eighteen she chose Exy over the best education in the country.When Allison was twenty-three she chose Exy over a business career.When Allison was twenty-seven she was ready to choose her love over Exy......but she didn't have to.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds & The Foxes, Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Kevin Day & Allison Reynolds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Seth Gordan/Allison Reynolds (Past)
Series: In A Foxes Hole [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1178429
Comments: 6
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Allison Reynolds nearly killed herself as a teenager to play Exy and if you try to tell me that she gave that all up to design clothes I will flat out tell you that you're wrong.
> 
> Honestly, I just wanted to write her being a pro and her and Kevin being friends.........
> 
> Title from Pretty Hurts by Beyonce (which let's be honest is fully Allison's song at one point in her life.
> 
>  **Warnings:** None-Graphic Eating Disorder. Non-Graphic Emotional Abuse of a Child. Non-Graphic Neglect of a Child. Someone Gets Outed. Vomiting Not Related To The Eating Disorder. Panic Attack.

**_Heiress Allison Reynolds Wowing All In New Photoshoot Page Two… and how the heiress to a multi-billion dollar empire plans to celebrate the millennium and how she manages starting High School!_ **

_Allison Reynolds, heiress to the empire her parents have built up over the years, like many, started high school this September. We asked her all your burning questions about boys, styling a uniform and more in this exclusive interview!!_

**_Int:_ ** _So, you’ve just settled in at a new school. How’s that been? Exciting? Scary?_

 **_AR:_ ** _The scariest part of it all has got to have been the uniforms! We often joke about how much we wish we could just go to a regular high school where they let us wear whatever we like_

 **_Int:_ ** _Back in my day we used to try and accessorize without our teachers noticing. Anything to get the boys to notice! Do you do any of that?_

 **_AR:_ ** _Not really! I don’t really have to! They notice anyway! But I won’t go without my lipgloss though if that counts…_

 **_Int:_ ** _That definitely counts! I suppose with a perfect figure like yours they can’t_ not _notice you! How do you keep your figure so well all of the time…_

-oOo-

When Allison was fifteen, she met her parent’s eyes with a defiant tilt of her chin. She’d grown up with money and luxury. “No” wasn’t a word she heard.

They’d said that the bruises were too much. That it was too dangerous. That she was hurting herself. That it wasn’t ladylike. But Allison heard what they were really trying to tell her. It was unattractive. 

Since she’d taken up exy she’d paid less interest in the boys outside of her team. She’d turned down dates with her parent’s friend’s children but that was less embarrassing than when she’d stopped getting asked out altogether.

She was the best dealer her private school had despite only being a freshman, fast and currently unspecialised and not one to shy away from a court brawl. She was also the only girl on a team of boys who thought they were men, they respected her game and nothing else about her.

It took weeks but finally, she’d struck a compromise with her parents. If she didn’t tarnish their image, she could keep playing.

She lost the muscle tone, letting them think she was cutting back on practice when in reality she was cutting back on food - always the first to excuse herself after a meal as she all but ran to the closest bathroom. 

Losing weight was the easy part, but without the nourishment that she needed to still be the best at what she did, the bruises healed slower. So she bought twelve different types of foundations and concealers a piece and spent a weekend locked in her room, skin rubbed raw as she perfected the art of something else.

Once the compliments on her appearance returned, her parents stopped caring. Happy to let her do whatever so long as it didn’t affect them and Allison was perfectly fine with that if it meant she made starting line.

The reprieve didn't last though and her body finally reached its breaking point two years later. As the adrenaline seeped out of her system after their win at the District Championships, she staggered off the court, unable to make it back to the privacy of the locker room before her legs buckled and the side of her head slammed into the bench.

She woke up in the hospital with three stitches, a psych referral and her parent’s anger.

 _“How dare you?!”_ her mother had spat like this was all just some big plan to bring shame on the family.

The sessions with her psychiatrist were long and painful but they were also the most peaceful time Allison got - being the only time her parents gave her space to breathe.

They’d diagnosed her with an eating disorder.

It was something Allison knew she’d had for a long time, but hearing the words come out of the doctor’s mouth still stung.

The first time Allison got back to her room after her therapy appointment and found both her parents absent - the nurse told her that they’d been called into work but Allison didn’t care, turning to the nurse.

_“I’ll give you the five hundred dollars currently sitting in my purse if you let me make two calls and warn me before they come back.”_

The nurse’s eyes had widened for just a moment before Allison was ushered into an empty office and directed towards the phone.

The call with the lawyer was simple, a heads up more than anything, that the money she’d been setting aside for years might be needed soon. When the word emancipation got bought up she hesitated for just a second before asking for the papers although she doubted they’d be needed.

The second call was her Coach, she’d gotten his voicemail but not knowing when she’d get another chance to speak to him she left him a quiet message.

_“I’m sorry. Give away my spot if you like but I’m going to get better and earn it back - properly this time.”_

And she aimed to keep that promise.

She followed the Doctor’s orders to the letter, she ate and she talked and slowly the bruises healed.

The day she was discharged was one of the most terrifying of Allison’s life. Her parents had ushered her through the crowd of paparazzi’s and they’d barely been home two minutes before Allison dropped the emancipation papers onto the table in front of them.

_“You let me play or I cause a scandal you won’t recover from.”_

They let her play.

She moved into their penthouse a mile from her school and their conditions were just as clear.

If you play exy, you get nothing.

She played.

The countdown to her eighteenth birthday hung over her head like a bomb. If she wanted to pursue the sport after her senior year, she had to find somewhere else to live.

She kept her promises to the doctors and to her coach, she stayed healthy, practised whenever she could and when she got the chance at tryouts, she made starting line without a doubt in anyone’s mind. 

With growing muscle tone and lasting energy, she was better than ever. 

Scouts came but when none of the offers stuck, she had no doubts that her parent’s money was the reason. So when Coach Wymack approached her after a game - unable to be bought - with a contract in hand she didn’t hesitate.

It didn’t matter that his team was bottom of the league, made up of broken pieces and fractured souls. They still had a Class I rating and at the end of the day, despite the makeup that covered her cracks, she was no better than any of them really.

-oOo-

**_Allison Reynolds, Teenage Heartthrob and Heiress has chosen the most unlikely of college choices…_ **

_With rumoured offers on the table from Harvard, Berkley and more… Allison Reynolds has chosen to go to Palmetto University in South Carolina with a Scholarship for exy to study fashion and business. While we’ve known for some time that exy has been a hobby of Allison’s since she joined her high school team it’s uncertain why she’s pursuing this with the lowest-ranked Class I team in the division coached by David Wymack who is known for recruiting players from broken homes._

_We reached out to Reynolds Inc earlier for a comment on Allison’s choice of school and the fact that despite their wealth she’s getting her education through a scholarship but we were refused a meeting._

_We also caught Allison and although she was in a hurry she did tell us that she was “going to Palmetto because that’s the best offer on the table for what I want to do.”_

_Are the Reynolds just using a scholarship that could go to someone more in need? Why is Coach Wymack breaking the pattern of Foxes recruitment for Allison? How’s the heiress going to fit in on a team full of runaways with questionable pasts? Could there be more to her hospitalization last year for an eating disorder than meets the eye?_

_We’re just going to have to wait for summer practice to start to find out when we follow her to South Carolina!_

-oOo-

Moving into Palmetto as summer practices started was an adjustment that she didn’t know how to make.

It was the first time in over a year that she’d constantly been around other people. She’d gotten so good at being self-sufficient, she’d even enjoyed learning to cook and design her own space but she’d never had to do it with other people before.

She had two roommates now and ten other team members surrounding her constantly at it’s all overwhelming for a while.

Renee is softness grown from unspeakable horrors. She accepts Allison as a roommate and a friend without hesitation and Allison surprises herself and enjoys letting her defensive mask slip a little to lean on another person.

She and Dan had clashed instantly. In hindsight, Allison didn’t even know why. They would snap at each other over the tiniest things until all of a sudden they were best friends. Allison didn’t know if it was Dan finally realising that she could handle her own or if she herself was just tired of letting their cockier male teammates try to pick them to pieces but it didn’t matter.

The trio were a force of nature when side by side and on the court together they were ruthless.

It took longer to find her feet with the rest of the team, the guys all saw her as some spoilt rich barbie and they weren’t exactly wrong so she tuned a lot of it out. But when Michaels had kicked off at practice when she didn’t pass to him, she finally put her foot down.

_“What the fuck is she even doing here? She’s not a fox! She’s never gone hungry a day in her life! Always had mommy-”_

He hadn’t finished his outburst when her fist hit his face and Dan not so kindly told him to not comment on things he knew nothing about.

And then there was Seth…

Seth was the first thing she’d let distract her from Exy in years but there was a reason she had a reputation of getting what she wanted and she wanted to be loved by him.

And she was.

When he was sober she loved him so much that it hurt and when he wasn’t it just hurt.

It was the most real relationship she’d ever had. Neither of them having to hide a part of themselves, both of them free to make their own choices. He respected her for more than her body or her talent on the court although he appreciated both.

He was her first real love and his death shattered her heart into more pieces than anything ever had before.

She was stronger after that, they all were.

Fuelled on vengeance and an anger that nobody above the bottom could understand.

In the aftermath of several lifetimes worth of trauma and pain, the foxes had all become the best versions of themselves.

Sure, Allison was still as Nicky put it “a catty bitch” but she had a family whom she’d gone through hell with and she wouldn’t change them for any inheritance.

Senior year came and she found herself hesitating for the first time in nearly a decade.

Dan and Renee had both turned down Pro contracts because despite both of them having the potential to go further, neither of them had the drive. Exy had always been a means to an end for Dan and an outlet for Renee, they both wanted other things out of their lives.

It was Kevin of all people who’d encouraged her to go forward, with a surprising gentleness he’d sat with her and gone through the three contracts she’d been offered and once they’d narrowed it down to one, he watched her sign it with a proud smile.

That week Allison made headlines again for the first time in years and although she’d deny it until the ends of the earth when Wymack dropped the magazine in front of her at her last team meeting the day after they secured their second championship title, she looked down at her face on the cover and burst into tears.

-oOo-

**_Allison Reynolds, Defensive Dealer - The First Palmetto Fox To Ever Go Pro!_ **

_When Reynolds first signed up at Palmetto there were a lot of questions surrounding her future and choices but now it couldn’t be clearer. Earlier this morning Miami’s Manta Ray’s released a statement that they were excited for Reynolds to be joining their lineup after she graduates._

_Reynolds proved herself on Court last year with the Foxes after they won the Championship against Edgar Allen’s Raven’s and she’s the first Fox to ever sign a professional contract. Current Foxes captain Danielle Wilds is rumoured to have also been offered a chance to go pro but neither of Reynolds graduating teammates have any interest in going pro._

_Word is going around that Foxes Kevin Day, Matt Boyd, Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard may also be scouted in the coming years but it’s too early to say for sure._

_Either way, Reynolds has made Palmetto history this season and we look forward to seeing her on professional courts next season!_

-oOo-

Learning to play for a new team is hard, she can’t fling the ball back to Andrew and know that he’ll get it where it needs to go. She can’t pass forward to Kevin or Neil who knows what her play is going to be three steps before she does herself. And it’s really lonely for a while.

But she finds her place and makes new friends with her teammates, although none of them will ever come close to the family she left behind in South Carolina. Her little family still talk daily through group chats and long phone calls with both Dan and Kevin - the latter of who pleasantly surprises her with his friendship and support. She could always count on him for a pep talk/lecture whenever she doubted her abilities and he was happy to let her rant about the shitty ways the media spoke about her. It was a long way from when he first came to them, angry, scared and outright cruel at times.

Her foxes had all come to her first game, a block of orange in a sea of her new team’s green. When she saw Wymack and Abby side by side in the stands, she swore to herself that she’d make them proud. And she did.

When it came time, Kevin, Matt, Andrew and Neil graduated in turn and went pro themselves and the game got exciting again. It was so strange to be playing opposite her former teammates as opposed to next to them but it was a challenge and she never backed away from a challenge. 

She’d swear at Neil when he darted past her with a grin and retaliated later by tripping him up with a move he’d taught her. She’d taken great joy in tackling Kevin whenever she could, something they’d laugh at over drinks later as he critiqued the game. She didn’t get to see as much of Matt or Andrew on the court but at the end of every game, she’d launch herself into Matt’s waiting arms and accept Andrew’s fist bump with a grin before he let her buy the drinks for the night no matter who won or lost.

After three years with her first team in Florida, she signed onto Kevin’s in New York and it was the warmest reception she’d ever gotten from a team.

She’d earnt Kevin’s respect on the court years ago so, by default, she’d earnt his teams.

They fell back into old - but improved - habits quickly, both trusting themselves and each other more than they had in college. She’d snatch the ball from her backliner and be volleying it down to Kevin to score before her mark had even registered she’d had it.

It took her and Matt a season longer to get the call from Court than it had their former teammates but she didn’t care, because their first proper practice with all five of them felt a little bit like coming home.

Three years later, five foxes stood together at the top of an Olympic podium a gold medal apiece and if anyone saw Wymack beaming up at them all proudly in the stands with tears on his cheeks, nobody said a word.

-oOo-

**_US Court Takes Gold For The Fourth Year In A Row!_ **

_There were a lot of fresh faces on the lineup this Olympics. Kevin Day, Jean Moreau, Neil Josten, Andrew Minyard, Matthew Boyd, Jeremy Knox, Sara Alvarez and Allison Reynolds all joined Olympic veterans this summer in London in the biggest team shake up the Court has ever seen but it seems to have paid off as they bought home gold once again!_

_Captained for the first time by Thea Muldani - the first woman to captain a National team, the US team bought home gold with the largest goal margin in the sports history!_

_When questioned about her new line up, she had this to say:_

_“Fresh blood is always good on Court and this just proves it! A lot of people were criticizing my ability to lead them to victory and the inexperience of some of my players but I think we proved them all wrong out there. I don’t think it was that big of a risk to be honest, all of these guys have been proving themselves since college. I played with Day and Moreau at Edgar Allen. Josten captained Minyard, Day, Reynolds and Boyd at PSU while Knox, Alvarez and Moreau were a force to be reckoned with in LA. We all enjoyed mixing it up a little and bringing back some of the best partnerships from our college days. And we’re all very excited for next season!”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was a major experiment with tenses. I don't write in present tense. So, shout out to Tattered_Dreams for dealing with my shit.

Just three weeks after their Olympic win Allison is bought hurtling back down to Earth.

Someone had taken a picture of her and Renee making out after their date the night before, it was such an intimate moment between the two of them on their doorstep when they thought they’d been alone. It had been the first date that they’d gotten to go on in a while and it had been an amazing night and now it’s ruined.

The picture hit the internet while she was changing out for practice. She barely has a chance to step out onto the court when Coach calls out her name and she makes her way over to him.

He doesn't say a word, just silently passes his phone across to her.

She looks down at the screen and feels the breath rush out of her.

“No,” she says flatly. “No.” 

**_Olympic Exy Star Allison Reynolds Secret Lesbian Romance?_ **

The walls seem to close in around her and she slaps a hand over her mouth to stop herself throwing up right there. 

She doesn't need to read the rest of the articles. She doesn't want to either. But she also wants to be anywhere but here right now.

Her gloves slip through her fingers as she stumbles backwards and later she’ll remember to be grateful that she’d set her helmet on the bench.

She distantly hears Kevin call out her name but she’s already bolted back towards the locker room bathrooms, dropping to her knees in front of the toilet as she brings her breakfast back up between sobs.

Hands are pulling her braids away from her face as her arm is rubbed soothingly until she stops heaving and tries to remember how to breathe.

“Allison, breathe,” Kevin says, guiding her away from the toilet and back against his chest.”Breathe or you’re gonna make yourself sick again.” 

He presses her hand under the edge of his chest guard and she tries to copy his deep breaths until she feels a little less lightheaded.

“Better?” Kevin asks and when she nods he presses her water bottle into her hands. “Good. Drink some of this.” 

“I didn’t want to do it like this,” she says, hating how broken her voice sounds. “We weren’t hiding and I’m not ashamed but…” 

“You still wanted to come out in your own way,” Kevin finishes smoothly. 

“It’s not even any of their fucking business,” she spits, the anger seeping in the place of the panic. “We just won the fucking Olympics and now all I get to be is a man’s lesbian fantasy. I’m not even a lesbian!”

Kevin snorts softly and Allison drops her head back against his chest, uncaring that his pads are digging awkwardly into her cheek.

“Do they know it was Renee?” she asks, calmer than before, letting Kevin trace gentle patterns on the back of her neck with his thumb, not caring that he’s probably drawing out gameplays.

“Yeah,” he replies, “she comes to most of our games and was with you in London. They realised she was a fox.” 

Allison scrubs at her face in frustration. She had just wanted one night to be with her girlfriend after she won an Olympic gold medal. Why is that too much to ask for?

“They're not gonna do anything,” Kevin assures her quietly, “not after what happened with Andrew.” 

Allison closes her eyes, remembering Andrew’s photos smeared across every sports platform in the country. They’d dragged up every dark part of his past just because it got leaked that he was gay. A lot of people had tried to get him banned from the sport, they said he shouldn’t go to the Olympics. He’d fought back and everyone that mattered supported him, Allison included and  _ eventually _ the NCAA had conceded he could play but it had been ugly. It was only three years ago but it seems like a lifetime.

“I know,” Allison says. It isn’t really going to change all that much; she knew that realistically. Maybe she’s going to get some comments and jeers but she gets those anyway being the only woman on her team. “I’d just gotten used to seeing my name in a magazine for something good, not shitty rumours and ‘should the lesbian be around kids?’ I wanted to be happy about London a little while longer but-” Dread twists in Allison’s gut as she remembers the rest of today's schedule. “Oh God, we have that Court press conference this afternoon.” 

“Oh, fuck,” Kevin says, dropping his head back against the wall. “Neil’s doing it too.” 

Allison can't help the small laugh that bubbles inside of her. Press duty with Neil - especially when something had happened - will forever be the most entertaining thing even if it is her life that they’re trying to tear apart.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” she muses but it’s more wishful thinking than anything. The next few days are going to be rough. The paparazzi presence has already increased since the Olympics and now it’s onlly going to grow more. “We should get to practice before we’re doing sprints ‘til Christmas.” 

“Coach told me to take you home,” he replies before she can make a move to stand up, “we were leaving early anyway.” 

“But-” 

Kevin jabs his finger at her side. “Go get changed, you’re going home.” 

“College Kevin is crying right now,” she quips but doesn't protest, rising to her feet she flushes the toilet and goes to wash her hands and he follows after her.

“College Kevin needed to grow the fuck up,” he retorts and Allison smiles up at him.

“He did,” she says, patting his cheek with her still wet hand, laughing at the way he splutters.

They both head off to get changed and as Allison steps back up to her locker, she finds her helmet and gloves back in their rightful place with a folded piece of paper on top.

_ Whatever you want to do now, we’ve got your back. _

_ Ball’s in your court. _

_ -Coach _

She smiles to herself slightly before tucking it on the shelf for safekeeping before shucking out of her gear and pulling on her regular clothes again.

The plan had been for her to get ready for the press conference after practice and go straight to the other stadium but now she has extra time to go home, she shoves her makeup bag back into her duffel and slings it over her shoulder.

As she steps out into the lobby, Kevin’s bag is there but he isn’t so she leans back against the wall and pulls out her phone while she waits.

_ Renee: _

_ 08:32: I just saw. I love you. Call me if you need me, I’m home all day. _

_ Nicky: _

_ 08:35: Fuck them all _

_ 08:35: wait no, that’s probably stereotypical _

_ 08:36: i love you girly _

_ Neil: _

_ 08:36: you had our backs, we’ve got yours _

_ Dan: _

_ 08:36: are they actually gonna fucking try this again. We love you and you better remember where we are!! _

_ Matt: _

_ 08:37: love you blondie, if you wanna skip later we’ll fight ‘em for you _

Allison smiles as she scrolls through them all. There are more messages from her Court teammates and other generations of foxes, but having this family rally behind her means more than anything else.

“Hey,” Kevin says, coming out of the men’s locker room, “you ready to go?”

Allison nods, shoving her phone in her pocket. “How bad is it outside?” she asks as they head down to the underground parking garage.

“There’s a crowd,” he replies grimly as they get to his SUV.

They chuck their bags in the trunk before climbing in and Allison snatches up Kevin’s sunglasses out of the cup holder to hide her puffy eyes from the cameras. She stares ahead definitely, refusing to let them see this bothers her - besides, it is sunny outside, so they can't fault her for that.

Sure enough, as Kevin waves to the security hut to raise the barrier, the swarm of flashing cameras descends and people all but scream their names.

Kevin rocks on the gas pedal making the engine scream threateningly, his hand flat on the horn, giving no indication that he plans to stop the car.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Andrew and Neil again,” Allison says, laughing slightly as a guy fully leaps backwards to avoid getting hit with the mirror.

“It’s a hundred points for a paparazzi, right?” Kevin asks with a smirk and Allison scoffs.

“I haven’t heard that since Nicky used to drive,” she says, “now that was dangerous.” 

“At least he had a license. Neil didn’t.” 

Allison shakes her head fondly. “The things that boy did…” 

The drive back to her house doesn't take long. It wasn’t really necessary to drive to and from the stadium, she usually walked in the morning as she had done today.

As they turn the corner into Allison’s street she's grateful that their house is away from the road behind private gates. It isn't even a big house, not by Allison’s standards, but it has enough room to host the Foxes reunions and any other event or guest.

There's a swarm of paparazzi outside the gates, all rushing towards the car as they catch sight of it turning in.

“Any of them that touch the driveway you get double points for hitting a trespasser,” Allison says darkly as the gates open when Kevin presses the fob on his visor. 

Luckily - or unluckily depending on how you look at it - the paparazzi know better than to cross onto her property and Kevin is able to pull up smoothly in front of the house, closing the gate behind them.

The car shields Allison from those leering over the fence and Kevin grabs their kit while she unlocks the front door.

They step into the entrance hall just as Renee comes out of the office. She's already reaching out towards her before Allison is even fully through the door.

Allison sinks into Renee’s arms, letting the tension and anxiety drift away as Renee pulls her into a tight embrace.

They pull apart just enough for Renee to cup Allison's face between her hands, fingers gently brushing stray strands of hair away.

“What do you want to do?” Renee asks.

“To go back to bed,” Allison replies honestly, but she glances back over at Kevin who had leant back against the wall, scrolling through his phone to give them their moment. “But we’ve gotta get ready for the press conference. This afternoon is gonna be interesting.” 

Kevin glances up from his phone with an amused smile. “Apparently the whole team’s coming in.” 

Allison tries to smile back but it feels forced. “You know there was a day when the great Kevin Day ran away from exy drama.” She looks at Renee. “Remember that?”

Renee hums with a glint of laughter in her eyes.

“Like you said-” Kevin pushes away from the wall to step towards them. “-I grew up. Come on, we’ve got an hour and a half to be at the stadium and we’ve gotta get through the sea of press yet.” 

Allison nods. “Imma go wash up,” she says, squeezing Renee’s hands. Then she grimaces as her tongue brushes across the back of her teeth and she tastes stomach acid again. “And brush my teeth.” 

Renee’s frown deepens but she lets Allison go. “I’ve just gotta send an email and I’ll come up.” She presses a kiss against Allison’s cheek and Allison closes her eyes at the soft sensation.

She forces herself to step away and snatches her bag up off of the floor. She looks back to Kevin. “Room’s all yours upstairs.” 

He inclines his head gratefully and they head up the stairs. They part in the hallway at the top and Allison steps into the master bedroom, letting the door close behind her. Her duffle slips through her fingers and drops down onto the ottoman at the foot of the bed and she dug out her make-up bag, tossing it on the dressing table on her way to the bathroom.

She brushes her teeth and then does it again just to be sure the taste is really gone before trying to wash away the tight feeling of tears on her face.

Her phone buzzes on her dressing table and she glances at it as she sits down. There are more missed calls from both Court and her team’s PR teams but it is the unsaved California number that flashes up on her screen that makes her pause. 

She knows that number.

She would know that number anywhere.

With shaking hands, she swipes across her screen and presses the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” 

On the other end of the line, there is a sharp intake of breath and Allison’s heart clenches at the sound.  _ “Allison…”  _

“Are you calling to congratulate me on the Olympic win? You’re a couple of weeks late, Mom.” 

Allison feels that particular strand of numbness seep through her veins, crushing down on her anxiety and the warm comfort that being home with Renee usually bought. It is a feeling that she learnt long ago to associate with her parents and a decline in her mental health.

_ “I didn’t watch it. But I heard. Congratulations.”  _

Allison scoffs humourlessly at her mother's flat tone. She rubs at her face tiredly, her limbs suddenly heavy and aching. “I hope it wasn’t too humiliating to hear that your daughter was the third American woman to make the US Court and the Olympics.” 

_ “Allison-”  _

“The answer is no,” Allison cuts off whatever her mom was going to say. “I don’t care what you want. I don’t care what you think you can offer me. I’m going to the Court press conference this afternoon and I’m not going to pretend to love whichever guy you’ve got lined up. I’m not doing that to Renee and I’m not doing that to myself.” Anger rushes through her like a wildfire, the only emotion that is ever strong enough to overpower the haze of depression. “I love her and she loves me and I’m a really fucking good athlete. That would be more than enough for any respectable parent and if it’s not for you- well, frankly I don’t give a fuck.” 

_ “Allison, will you just think for a minute! This could jeopardise even your athletic-”  _

“I don’t care!” she snaps. “If I lose my spot on Court, that’s gonna be more of a loss to them I can guarantee. You don’t get it, It’s not important. You always wanted me to love something enough that it made giving up exy worth it. I have that now. I have Renee. But I’m not going to have to choose because not everybody is manipulative enough to make a person choose. But it would still be her.” 

Allison can feel herself soften as she looks across at the framed picture on her dresser. Andrew of all people had taken it at Dan and Matt’s wedding years ago. Allison and Renee were holding hands, they’d been dancing like crazy people skipping around in circles on the grass, their eyes only focussed on each other as they laughed. It is one of Allison’s favourite pictures of the two of them - not that she’s ever going to tell Andrew that - and it never fails to make her heart warm as she gazes at it.

“I love her, mom. More than anything. And I haven’t cared about your approval or your money in a long time.” 

_ “Allison…”  _

“Bye, mom.” 

Allison cuts the call, letting the phone rest in the palm of her hand as she watches the screen go dark.

“Are you okay?” 

Allison’s head whips around at the sound of Renee’s voice. She is leaning against the doorframe, a worried crease between her eyes. Allison’s smile is surprisingly easy as she reaches out, drawing Renee close to her.

“I am,” she says truthfully. “I mean it. I don’t care what they think. I choose you.” 

Renee’s features soften and her eyes widen just slightly at the meaning behind her words. Renee brushes her lips against Allison’s so gently it’s hardly a kiss.

“Nobody’s going to make you choose,” Renee promises against her lips. “You’re allowed both.” 

Allison closes the space between them again, kissing Renee softly as she brushes Renee's hair back behind her ear and any uncertainty that Allison might’ve felt seemed to fade away as she finds her safety in the arms of the woman she loves.

-oOo-

**_[EXTRACT FROM POST-OLYMPIC US COURT PRESS CONFERENCE]_ **

**_Int:_ ** _ Mr Day, do you - or any of your teammates want to comment on the recent discovery of your teammates [Allison Reynolds, Starting Defensive Dealer] off court activities? _

**_Starting Striker, Kevin Day:_ ** _ Why would I want to comment on it?. It’s neither a recent discovery, relevant to her ability to play Exy nor any of our business. I’m happy for her and Renee. There we go. That’s my comment. _

**_Starting Striker, Neil Josten:_ ** _ I’d like to comment, if that’s okay? _

**_Int:_ ** _ Oh, of course. _

**_Starting Backliner, Matthew Boyd:_ ** _ Oh, here we go!  _

**_SS, NJ:_ ** _ This is the most diverse team that this country has ever sent to the Olympics and it’s also the strongest. We won by the biggest margin in history but instead of talking about that we’re wasting time because once again the press and supposed fans think that they have a right to information that they don’t. You outed Andrew [Minyard] and I two years ago and made headlines with that, it was headlines when Jeremy [Knox] and Jean [Moreau] announced their relationship and you’ve spent a whole bunch of time speculating about Laila [Dermott, formerly of the US Court] and [Sara] Alvarez despite them confirming their relationship since college. Court players being anything but straight isn’t new or breaking news so why are you using your airtime to ask invasive and irrelevant questions rather than talking about the things that matter like the fact that we just won our fourth consecutive Olympic title? _

**_Starting Defensive Dealer, Allison Reynolds:_ ** _ Not that the question about my personal life was even directed at me. But I’m going to say that me and Renee - yes, formerly of Palmetto Foxes - have been together since Palmetto and haven’t once tried to hide our relationship, it just wasn’t relevant to my job and you all saw that we were living together and spent a lot of time together as us “just being good friends.” That’s not my problem. My fiance and I would like to thank teammates, both past and present, for their continued support as well as all of the fans out there who’ve sent us kind words.  _

-oOo-

**_Olympian Allison Reynolds and Wife Renee Walker Tie The Knot Surrounded By Family and Friends!_ **

_ Allison Reynolds tied the knot with her old teammate and long-time partner, Renee Walker earlier in the week at a private ceremony in Upstate New York. It was witnessed by their former PSU teammates as well as members of both Reynold’s New York Team and the US Court... _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Eating Disorder Support](https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/)
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated ♥


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